New Year, new projects

     Well, it' a new year and we are very busy with projects, but one sticks out above all, so it shall be the topic of my next few blog posts.  We have started the construction of my daughter Brooklyn's birthday surprise tree house!  Since this is a side project, it will seem like it's taking us a long time to build, but just bear with us, it needs to be done by her March 29th birthday party.  I will be keeping you posted as to the progress here in the blog, and will also try to do some sort of GoPro time lapse of the build.

     Unfortunately, our yard doesn't have a great tree to use, so after a few days of back and forth, I found a spot for it.  I have decided to place the house between two smaller trees on a small hillside and just give it the appearance of being in the trees.  It will be built on an elevated, freestanding  platform and will not be attached to the trees.  I know, I'm cheating and it's technically not a tree house, but it will get the job done.

     The plans are all in my head and will probably change quite a bit as needed.  We have already had to rotate the layout, shrink it down a bit, and lower it.  All of the changes so far have been to avoid hacking up the trees.  All of the future changes will be because I would like to repurpose and reuse as much as possible on this one, not only to do my part, but also to give it that funky look.....and saving some dough will be a nice bonus!  I will be taking trips to the Habitat for Humanity warehouse, hitting up my barn wood honey hole,  scouring craigslist, picking through my junk pile that I use for furniture, and maybe incorporating some pallets.  As soon as the floor is up and I find some windows and doors, I will have a better idea of what it's going to look like and will pass that info along.   

    Here is our progress so far......we have picked a spot, laid it all out, and poured the footings.  I am hoping to have time between projects this week to get the floor built and maybe even stand some walls.  I will chime back in as progress continues, but for now, here is one picture of the location and footings.  As of now, it will be approximately 12' X 12' with an 8 in 12 pitched roof and wrap around deck.  It will have vaulted ceilings and a small loft......stay tuned, this is going to be a sweet one!